The Precious Game
by hazelmom
Summary: Pepper needs something, and Tony finally puts aside the pretense.


9

A/N: I just watched Iron Man for the first time last night and the second time this morning. I don't know canon, and I don't know why Happy is Hogan in the movie or why Rodney is Rodie. I don't know anything, but I was compelled to write a little something in light of the wonderful chemistry between Tony and Pepper. I hope you read.

Sheila

The Precious Game

It had been 12 months to the week he had been kidnapped in Afghanistan. So many things were different now, and it was sometimes a struggle to avoid falling into the old traps. Losing himself in a tuxedo, a rakish smile, and a penchant for bedding the most beautiful woman in any room could be the best distraction of all, and Tony had experimented with returning to it, but it felt different now. It embarrassed him, an emotion as new to him as the device attached to his chest.

He still made appearances. After all, Tony Stark was a commodity as much as anything else. People wanted to be seen at events he attended. Starlets maneuvered themselves so they could be photographed with the infamous Tony Stark. It ensured at least month of romantic speculation in the tabloids. There was a part of Tony that still enjoyed the ease with which he could work a room, but he didn't delude himself. People flocked, but not out of regard as much as spectacle. They were waiting for his next antic. Would he declare himself Iron Man again? Would he turn Stark Industries into a farm and garden business?

The first time had been enough to keep news programs and talk shows busy for weeks. SNL had a running skit with a boozy Tony Stark caricature stumbling through botched rescues. The consensus was that America's favorite playboy was still traumatized from his kidnapping. Claiming to be Iron Man was his muddled mind's attempt to cope with the situation. The public hung on, both fascinated by and pitying the overwhelmed billionaire.

Tony knew this, but, surprisingly, it bothered him little. He cut down on events, but let the incomparable Pepper Potts pick and choose for him now; a penchant for worthy causes coloring her decisions.

Tonight, it was homeless families; a big gala where millions would be raised to bolster funding in area shelters. In a rather grotesque move, someone had thought it was a good idea to invite several homeless mothers and their children. They wore their best, but stood out starkly among the gowns and diamonds; sticking close together silently, their eyes squinting anxiously at the bright lights flashing everywhere.

Tony dared not approach. Photographers, celebrities, and reporters would undoubtedly follow, and make everything worse for them. His eye caught a flash of the most amazing light green, and he followed it like a moth to a flame. She was wearing this delicate green shift that stopped his heart when she got in the limo with him earlier. He'd said something snarky about it though he couldn't remember what. For the rest of the ride, he'd just concentrated on his breathing, marveling at how her creamy, bare arms and soft red hair complemented the ethereal fabric. She was so effortlessly beautiful tonight that it was a struggle to be in her company. His choices were to be incoherent or thoughtlessly inappropriate. Her reaction to either would be more disappointment than he could handle.

He watched her wade into the group of mothers and children. Soon a lovely child with a halo of curls was transferred to her shoulder, and she herded the group to a table. Sitting down with them, he could see the little girl was falling asleep in Pepper's arms. She smiled down at her, whispering into her ear things that made the child giggle. A chubby hand reached out and clutched a thick, red curl, and Tony suddenly felt a pang of jealousy in his gut that this stranger could share such intimacy with his Pepper while he was forced to live at arm's length.

Someone put a hand on his shoulder, and gestured toward the dais. He sat a long table among other dignitaries, and was relieved that his own contribution would be a short trip to the podium to expound on the virtues of contributing to this cause. It would be awhile though, and he couldn't help but allow himself to stare at her shamelessly. A couple of times she looked at him, but then blushed and busied herself with the child's hair. She'd begun a slight rocking motion, cradling the sleeping girl at her bosom. The little girl's mother sat next to Pepper, but had her hands full with what appeared to be restless twin boys. Pepper was oblivious to everything but the child in her arms.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Hours later, the crowd was largely gone. The mothers and children were still there as their van had not yet arrived. Pepper had not let go of the sleeping child, and the distracted parent was still focused on the twin boys who were now running circles around the ballroom floor. Wait staff were swarming the banquet tables.

Tony still sat on the dais, alone now. He should have made a public exit hours earlier, but he couldn't pull himself away. Instead he sat drinking a cold cup of coffee; watching her amidst the women and children. She had long since ceased looking back at him.

One of the women closed her cell phone and then leaned over to speak to Pepper. Pepper frowned and nodded. Propping the child on her shoulder, she got up and headed in his direction. She didn't attempt to climb the stairs. Instead, she just looked up at him. "The van is dead. It's not coming. These children should have been in bed hours ago. Can you help?"

He smiled. "It's what I do best."

…………………………………………………………………………………

Within twenty minutes, four stretch limousines were ready to take them back to the shelter in real style. The irony of it wasn't lost on Tony. Pepper finally gave the child back and slid into the limo next to him. He leaned over. "Tomorrow, Potts, I want that shelter to have two new vans. In addition, I want 1 million in grant money for them to use on whatever sort of program that will get these families back into homes."

She sighed. "I'll get right on it, Boss."

Lowering his voice, he said, "What do I have to do in order to see you in that dress on a daily basis?"

"Not tonight, Tony. I'm not in the mood." With that, she slid away from him, and stared out the window.

Bewildered, he sat back, silent. Granted, she didn't often take the bait when he flirted, but this was different. There was something terribly heavy in her voice. For a few minutes, he pondered on it, and then he softly asked, "Pepper, you want to tell me something?"

She shook her head, refusing to look at him.

He reached over to touch her shoulder but she pulled away, a sob escaping her. He blinked. He had little experience with an emotional Pepper Potts, and it left him at a loss. Out the window, a full moon shone brightly on a quiet ocean, signaling how close he was to home. She would undoubtedly jump out and be in her car before he could say much of anything. He leaned forward. "Happy, pull over, please."

The limo eased onto the shoulder. Tony took off his shoes. "Happy, I think we're going to walk the rest of the way."

She frowned at him.

"Potts, you're going to hate yourself if you try to walk in the sand in those shoes."

"Tony…"

"I'm still the boss, Potts. Let's walk." He took her hand and guided her out. She tried to let go when they were both standing, but he acted as if he felt nothing. He held on tightly as they made their way down to the wet sand near the water. It felt cool beneath their feet.

Pepper wiped furiously at her face with her free hand.

"Talk to me."

"No."

He sighed. "She's a beautiful child."

"They're all beautiful."

"This one made you sad."

She pulled away from him. "She…did not…make me sad."

"Then what, Pepper? What?"

She stopped and threw her hands up. "What am I doing, Tony? How do I matter in this world? When I die, you can put on my tombstone that I was loyal…and extremely efficient. In the end, what does that really mean?"

"To me, it means a lot."

Her eyes flashed at him. "Guess what, Tony? Personal Assistants like me are not that hard to find!"

He grabbed her arm much harder than he intended. "Pepper, you're wrong, just terribly, terribly wrong."

She went limp. "Sure, I am. I know what you're going to say. You're going to say, Pepper, I couldn't tie my own shoes without you. Well frankly, Tony, that just doesn't mean that much to me anymore."

He pulled her in tightly. "Oh my God, Pepper, are you really that blind?"

"I know, Tony, I know. You care about me. You're attracted…at times. You're…"

"Stop talking, Potts." He whispered into her hair.

"I'm not one of your girls, Tony. Don't ever forget that."

He chuckled. "You never know when to shut up, Potts." He let and gestured at the dry sand to their right. "Sit down."

She did reluctantly, watching warily as he sat down beside her. She took in a breath as if ready to anticipate him, but he put up a finger, looking into her eyes sternly. "It's my time. I talk. You listen. And if you interrupt, I plan to do something wholly inappropriate. Got it? You'll be sorry. I promise you that."

Her eyes got wide but she said nothing.

"You remember when I was kidnapped? Of course, you do. You thought I was dead for three months."

Her eyes started to water, and he reached over with his thumb and gently wiped the moisture away. "Shhhhh…that was dumb. I'm sorry. Let me start again…Pepper, I was gone for three months, and things were feeling more than a little desperate, and I was with this fellow named Yinsen. Smart guy. Principled. I told you about a bit about him."

She nodded.

"Yinsen told me that I was the man who had everything and the man who had nothing. I'd never thought of myself like that before. I really had convinced myself that I was living the life that others only dreamed about. I was the envy of every man, and the fantasy of every woman. It doesn't get much better than that, does it?"

She looked at him, expressionless.

"Well, I can't fool you, can I?" He reached over and brushed a curl behind her ear. "So this fellow in ragged clothes trapped in a cave with me, tells me I have nothing, and it cuts me like nothing ever has. That little man devastated me. I mean, I know I have you, Rodie, and I had Obadiah…but I don't know. Whose life would really skip a beat if I wasn't there?"

"Tony…"

He put a finger to her lips. "I know, I know. I really matter. I understand that, but you and I have played this game so long, it's hard to know what's real and what's not."

Unexpectedly, she nodded.

"Yeah, you know too. I gotta' tell you, Pepper, something happened to me that day, and the next morning when I woke up, I realized something I had never before considered. In all the soul searching I was doing about who cared about me, I'd never taken a moment to think about how I really cared about. The vagaries of a spoiled man, right? So I was in this cave, and there was no more pretense, no more games, and I realized how I deeply I loved you all, even Obadiah. More than that, I realized that I missed all of them…save you. You, I didn't miss."

She furrowed her brow.

"Pepper, you are the one that I yearned for. You are the one that I would have done anything to see again. I realized in that moment, that you were going to be the answer to my survival. I might have given up, if it hadn't been for the deep need I had to be with you again. Without you, I would have never accomplished what I did."

"You were desperate." she said, her eyes downcast.

He lifted her chin. "I was. And I had no distractions. There was plenty of time to reflect on my life. For the first time, I had the clarity of my heart."

"Don't play with me."

"Never, Pepper, with you I never play. I might tease and push you, particularly when I want you too much, but I never play. To me, our game is very serious business."

"You've been back for nine months, and you've said nothing to me of this." He could see the anger building within her.

"Let's go back to the thing where you only listen, and I do all the talking."

"You've got about five minutes, Buster, before you're shopping for a new assistant…and a new girl to…manipulate."

"I've done research on this, and it turns out that dyeing your hair another color will do absolutely nothing for your temperament. Not that I would ever want you to be anything but a redhead, it's just that—"

"Tony!"

"I don't know how to not play the game. We've relied on the game. It has kept this relationship alive for many years. I don't underestimate its power."

"Me neither."

He took her hands in his. "The old Tony wasn't worthy of you, Pepper, and frankly, I just don't know enough about who I am now. I don't trust myself. The man who deserves you…has to not be a spoiled child."

"You're not."

"I just remembered that I was supposed to do something inappropriate if you talked."

She backed away, but he was too fast. He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her in tightly. She felt his titanium heart against hers. His ragged breathing joined hers, and his mouth skated lazily down her face, and then kissed her lightly on the nape of her neck. "You say another word, and I will throw out all the rules entirely."

She gasped, but stayed quiet.

Still holding her tightly, he breathed into her neck. "There's too much at stake, Miss Potts. You're the most precious thing in my life. I have to treat you as such."

Her breathing joined his, and for a moment, they both savored the intimacy of breathing as one.

"Is it too much or not enough? When is the right time? When will I know that I am ready to be that man for you?"

She started to talk, but stopped herself abruptly.

He closed his eyes and moaned. "I love you with all my heart. God, if only that were enough."

She turned his face to hers, and stared into his liquid brown eyes. "I am not feeling meaningless anymore."

He reached hungrily for her mouth, but she had anticipated this, and pulled away with all her strength. She scrambled to her feet, taking a moment to brush the sand off her beautiful dress. She smiled at him lightly. "Well, Mr. Stark, I am so glad we had this talk. This really puts everything into perspective for me."

He dropped back into the sand, and sighed deeply.

"No, no, Boss, none of that. We have a busy day tomorrow." She reached down and grabbed an arm. "On your feet now."

He reluctantly obeyed, and stood quietly while she brushed sand off his tuxedo. Then she stopped and looked at him. Sand trailed down the side of his face. She reached up and brushed it lightly away from his eyes. "You're not the only one who wants to be ready. You have my heart, but I'm still mustering up the courage."

"We're quite a pair, Miss Potts."

She linked arms with him, and they started to walk slowly toward his home. "That we are, Mr. Stark."

"So you'll wear the green every day."

"Not on your life. Tomorrow, I come to work in a tracksuit."

"You crush me."

"And I can do it without the titanium gadgets."

"I find this new side to you most unbecoming."

"Honestly, I think it is this very thing that you love most of all." She grinned madly at him, and he threw back his head and laughed.

The End.


End file.
